Comerica Economic Weekly

The U.S. international trade gap widened in March to $51.8 billion with a little help from higher oil prices. But most of the push came from non-petroleum imports, which increased by $9.4 billion for the month. Exports remained strong, increasing by $5.3 billion. Initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week ending May 5 maintained the big step down from the previous week, falling by 1,000 to hit 367,000; a positive note for labor markets.